1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a radiographic imaging apparatus and a processing method for the apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Diagnoses and examinations based on imaging using radiation (for example, X-rays) have been actively practiced. Such an examination proceeds based on an examination order including a plurality of imaging protocols. In this case, an imaging protocol is manually created by, for example, a radiological technician in accordance with an examination order, and includes information such as the region of the patient's body to be imaged (the imaging region), imaging method, and image processing which are requested by the doctor.
An increasing number of hospitals have been adopting an online system using an HIS (Hospital Information System), RIS (Radiology Information System), and the like. In accordance with this trend, an externally created examination order is sometimes transferred to a radiographic imaging apparatus via a network. In this case, the operator selects an imaging protocol from the examination order displayed on the display unit of the radiographic imaging apparatus. The apparatus then sets parameters based on the imaging protocol and performs imaging based on the parameters.
Assume that the operator has selected the wrong imaging protocol, and the apparatus has executed imaging based on the selected protocol. In this case, since the set parameters are not appropriate, the apparatus cannot execute the intended imaging. As a means for solving this problem, the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-275194 is known.
The technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-275194 allows to change the imaging protocol from one which has already been used for imaging to another imaging protocol. This technique, however, takes no consideration of a situation in which an examination proceeds based on an examination order, and hence does not allow changing to a pre-scheduled imaging protocol.
Even if, therefore, an examination order includes an imaging protocol as a change destination, it is not possible to change to that imaging protocol. For this reason, an examination order may redundantly include identical imaging protocols. When the operator is to re-execute imaging that has been erroneously executed (imaging based on an imaging protocol), he/she must perform the operation(s) required to add a new imaging protocol. This is cumbersome.